Fort Pierce

Fort Pierce, Florida
Nickname(s): Heart of the Citrus Region, Sunrise City, Birthplace of the Navy Frogman
Location in St. Lucie County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 27°26′20″N 80°20′8″W / 27.43889°N 80.33556°W / 27.43889; -80.33556Coordinates: 27°26′20″N 80°20′8″W / 27.43889°N 80.33556°W / 27.43889; -80.33556
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	St. Lucie
Area
- City	20.7 sq mi (53.8 km2)
- Land	14.7 sq mi (38.2 km2)
- Water	6 sq mi (15.6 km2)
Elevation	16 ft (5 m)
Population (2008)
- City	41,000
- Density	1,812.4/sq mi (697.3/km2)
- Metro	400,121
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
FIPS code	12-24300[1]
GNIS feature ID	0307964[2]

Fort Pierce is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, USA. It is also known as the Sunrise City, sister to San Francisco, California, the Sunset City. The population was 37,959 at the 2004 census. As of 2008, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 41,000.^[1] It is the county seat of St. Lucie County.^[3] Fort Pierce is part of the Port St. Lucie, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area which have population of 400,121. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 53.8 km² (20.8 sq mi). 14.7 square miles (38.2 km²) of it is land and 6.0 square miles (15.6 km²) of it (35.00%) is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2008, there were 41,000 people residing in the city. The population density was2,212.4/sq mi (697.3/km²) . The racial makeup of the city was 49.54% White, 40.85% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 5.36% from other races, and 3.05% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.00% of the population.

There were 14,407 households out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.1% were married couples living together, 19.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.8% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.19.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.2% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 19.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.9 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $25,121, and the median income for a family was $29,458. Males had a median income of $21,274 versus $20,012 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,345. About 25.4% of families and 30.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 45.1% of those under age 18 and 17.5% of those age 65 or over.

Ecology

The Experimental Oculina Research Reserve preserves the Oculina Banks, a reef of ivory bush coral (Oculina varicosa) off the coast of Fort Pierce, Florida. In 1984, a 92 square-nautical-mile (316 km²) portion of these reefs was designated the "Oculina Habitat Area of Particular Concern". In 1994, the area was closed to all manner of bottom fishing and was redesignated a research reserve. In 2000, the marine protected area was expanded to 300 square nautical miles (1,030 km²) and prohibited all gears that caused mechanical disruption to the habitat.

Points of interest and Things to Do

• St. Lucie County Regional History Center
• Historic Main Street
• Old Fort Park
• Navy UDT-SEAL Museum (Fort Pierce was the original home of the Navy SEALs)
• Heathcote Botanical Gardens
• Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution
• St. Lucie County Marine Center featuring the Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit
• Manatee Observation Center
• Oxbow Eco-Center
• Florida Power and Light Energy Encounter
• A.E. Backus Museum and Gallery

Notable residents

• Rick Ankiel
• A.E. "Beanie" Backus
• Edwin Binney, co-founder of Crayola Crayons^[4]
• Michael Brantley
• Yamon Figurs
• Mark Foley
• John Houghtaling (1916-2009), creator of the Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed.^[5]
• Zora Neale Hurston
• Charles Johnson (baseball)
• Daniel T. McCarty
• Gary Stewart, country singer
• Matthew Underwood
• Colton Willems
• Kimberly Bergalis

References

'

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. http://www.naco.org/Template.cfm?Section=Find_a_County&Template=/cffiles/counties/usamap.cfm. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. 
4. ^ "Edwin Binney" Retrieved on 2009-03-12
5. ^ Fox, Margalit. "John Houghtaling, Inventor of Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed, Dies at 92", The New York Times, June 19, 2009. Accessed June 20, 2009.

External links

• City of Fort Pierce
• What to do in Fort Pierce
• A virtual tour of Fort Pierce

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